The second in the world rankings, who again started the tournament as one of the favorites, was eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar. The Belgians couldn’t get more than 0-0 in their fateful game against runners-up Croatia on Thursday. A win would have been necessary. The Croatians advanced to the round of 16 as second in the group behind the surprise team Morocco.
After disappointing performances in the first two World Cup games, reports of internal tensions in the Belgians had made the rounds. The “Red Devils”, Austria’s opponents in the European Championship qualification next year, wanted to have them eliminated in a crisis meeting. The duel with the Croatians in front of 43,984 spectators in the sold-out Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan was balanced for long stretches. Substitute Romelu Lukaku also failed to score the redeeming goal.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez reacted to the recent 2-0 defeat by Morocco with four changes in the starting line-up. Captain Eden Hazard was initially on the bench, as was brother Thorgan. Lukaku, who had been injured for a long time and had made a short comeback against Morocco, also took a seat there again. In addition to defensive man Leander Dendoncker, Yannick Carrasco, Dries Mertens and Leandro Trossard were new to the team.
Croatia relied on exactly the same formation as last time they beat Canada 4-1. Center forward Marko Livaja was supported on offense by Andrej Kramaric and Ivan Perisic. The latter fired the first warning shot after just seven seconds. On the other side, Carrasco appeared dangerously in front of the goal (11th). The substitute captain Kevin De Bruyne, otherwise inconspicuous before the break, served Mertens on the counter, but his finish was weak (13′).
The excitement of a balanced first half: After a duel between Carrasco and Kramaric, referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty (15′). Croatia’s captain Luka Modric had already put the ball on point for execution when the video assistant (VAR) cut in. The penalty was withdrawn after Taylor’s own review, as Kramaric had already been found slightly offside from Modric’s previous free-kick. It remained at 0:0.
At the break, Martinez went “all in” – and sent Lukaku, who was not fully fit, into the game. Inter Milan’s storm tank provided more activity than Mertens and indicated his danger with a header after a sensitive cross from De Bruyne (48th). Belgium goalie Thibaut Courtois deflected a shot from Mateo Kovacic over the bar in his 100th international match (50′) and was also on the ball against Marcelo Brozovic and his Real Madrid colleague Modric during a short period of pressure from the Croatians (54′). .
Two big chances followed for Lukaku. After a rebound, Belgium’s record goalscorer nailed the ball to the inside right post (60′), two minutes later he headed the ball over the empty goal. The goal would not have counted, however, because De Bruyne had fired his deflected cross from behind the goal line.
The Croatians wobbled in the finish. However, Lukaku did not steer a volley from Thomas Meunier into the goal, but next to it (87th). Perhaps the greatest chance came in the 90th minute: after a cross from substitute Thorgan Hazard, Lukaku didn’t get enough pressure on the ball with his chest from close range. Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic grabbed in front of the line. A little later, Josko saved Gvardiol from the Belgium striker, who was ready for action.
Lukaku had decided the last two duels with Croatia (2-1 and 1-0) with a total of three goals for the “Red Devils”. This time the 29-year-old went away empty-handed – and the 2018 World Cup third-placed man has to pack his bags. Croatia face Group E winners Spain and Germany in Monday’s round of 16, who were confirmed on Thursday night. The Vice World Champion is now unbeaten nine times in a row. The only defeat so far this calendar year was for Modric and Co. at the start of the Nations League in early June at home against Austria (0: 3).
Source: Nachrichten
